Starfucker - "Quality Time" Video

Starfucker /// Quality Time from Liberum Pictures on Vimeo.

Thanks to Pretty Much Amazing for the heads up.

Stream Starfucker's 'Reptilians' In Its Entirety

Starfucker's sophomore album Reptilians is easily one of my favorite records of 2011 so far.

Check out my review here.

You can now stream the record in its entirety via the Soundcloud below.

  STRFKR - Reptilians by Polyvinyl Records

Starfucker - 'Reptilians' Review

Starfucker's sophomore record Reptilians is my early frontrunner for best album of 2011. If you like electronics-based music at all (MGMT, LCD Soundsystem, Passion Pit, and latter-day of Montreal are some reference points for me), you must check this out.

Starfucker (or STRFKR, if you prefer, which I'm sure is how the band will present themselves in public domain where profanity is not allowed) hail from Portland, Oregon. The band's sound employs electronics (synth, video game bleeps, beats) and spoken word segments along with traditional instrumentation and two talented vocalists.

Despite the heavy use of electronics, the resulting sound is incredibly warm and rich.

01) Born
Acoustic guitar intro leads into strange feedback noises, then a beat is introduced.

"So many people feeling troubled", the angelic vocals proclaim. "So many people evil killing." There are lots of problems in the world. What are we gonna do? Not sure if that question is answered, but we get some comforting keyboard sounds.

02) Julius
First single and major album highlight "Julius" starts off with some old-school video game bleeps and a shimmering, sparkling sound. Then we get an incredibly catchy synth line. Vocals kick in, different from the first song - I gather we have two vocalists here. Some heavy bass provides a backbone to all the synth. All the sounds crash and cascade into each other, and it is beautiful.

03) Bury Us Alive
Another highlight of the record. You should just listen to this album start-to-finish, but if you must start off with a song sampler, go with this song. An icy smooth synth trickles down, and is joined by a solid beat keeping the pace. A trumpeting sound effect kicks in for the chorus, reminds me a bit of the sound effect The Dandy Warhols employed in "We Used to Be Friends". Kicks things into high gear, makes you wanna dance.

"I know nothing ever keeps you safe for sure".

The chorus is simply "Oh, bury us alive" sung over + over.

STRFKR Tour Dates

Starfucker are my latest musical crush. I'm addicted to their new record Reptilians, which I thought was their debut, but is actually their sophomore album, as it turns out. Their first record is a self-titled affair, and I'm familiarizing myself with it now. Not quite as amazing as Reptilians, but solid.

Starfucker are also known as STRFKR. The acronym does a handy job of covering up the profanity, when the need to do so arises. Not as easy to say aloud as Em Gee Em Tee (MGMT) though.

The band is playing Bowery Ballroom on 4/2. Here's their full tour schedule:

03/08 – San Francisco, CA – Independent
03/09 – San Francisco, CA – Rickshaw Stop
03/11 – W. Hollywood, CA – The Troubadour
03/12 – Costa Mesa, CA – Detroit Bar
03/13 – Phoenix, AZ – The Trunk Space
03/14 – Santa Fe, NM – VFW
03/15-03/19 – SXSW
03/20 – Houston, TX – Fitzgerald’s Downstairs
03/22 – Birmingham, AL – Bottletree Cafe
03/23 – Atlanta, GA – The Drunken Unicorn
03/25 – Tampa, FL – Crowbar
03/26 – Orlando, FL – Backbooth
03/27 – Jacksonville, FL – Jack Rabbits
03/29 – Chapel Hill, NC – Local 506
03/30 – Washington DC – Rock and Roll Hotel
03/31 – Philadelphia, PA – Johnny Brenda’s
04/01 – Plains, PA – River Street Jazz Cafe
04/02 – New York, NY – Bowery Ballroom
04/05 – Boston, MA – Brighton Music Hall
04/06 – Portland, ME – Space Gallery
04/07 – Ithaca, NY – Delilah’s @ Ithaca College
04/08 – S. Burlington, VT – Higher Ground
04/09 – Rochester, NY – The Bug Jar
04/10 – Cleveland Heights, OH – Grog Shop
04/11 – Columbus, OH – Skully’s
04/12 – Chicago, IL – Lincoln Hall
04/14 – Minneapolis, MN – Triple Rock Social Club
04/15 – Sioux Falls, SD – Orpheum
04/16 – Omaha, NE – The Waiting Room
04/17 – Denver, CO – Bluebird Theater
04/19 Salt Lake City, UT – Kilby Court – Early Show
04/19 – Salt Lake City, UT – Urban Lounge – Late Show
04/21 – Boise, ID – Neurolux
04/22 – Vancouver, BC – The Biltmore Cabaret
04/23 – Seattle, WA – The Vera Project
04/26 – Seattle, WA – The Crocodile
04/28 – Portland, OR – Holocene
04/29 – Portland, OR – Doug Fir Lounge
04/30 - Portland, OR – MS Studios

Starfucker - Reptilians

Starfucker, based in Portland, Oregon, have produced my early frontrunner for favorite album of 2011 in Reptilians. Yes, it's still January. Nonetheless!

The Starfucker sound employs electronics, video game bleeps, synth, angelic vocals, and spoken word segments - check out the 'contemplation of death' segment that precedes "Death As A Fetish".  It all comes together into a sound that's surprisingly warm (this record is getting me through this horrible winter) and addictive (I've been spinning this one over + over).

Reptilians officially drops March 8. You can order a CD or clear vinyl (!) from Polyvinyl here, and you'll get a high quality (320kbps) MP3 copy of the album immediately. I highly recommend it.

Starfucker MySpace

Polyvinyl Store